Media
Publications:
Documents:
Photos:
Audio/Podcasts:
Biography
Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody, MD, MPH, is an Associate Professor and Director of the UNC Perinatal Psychiatry Program of the UNC Center for Women’s Mood Disorders. Her current clinical and research efforts are focused primarily on Perinatal Depression. She is currently funded by multiple NIH grants to investigate epidemiologic, genetic, and other biomarker models of postpartum depression (PPD) and has recently worked to establish an international postpartum depression genetics consortium (PACT). In addition, she is investigating novel treatment options for depression in perinatal women. Her funded research also investigates the neuroendocrine (oxytocin, HPA stress axis), genetic and other biological markers of perinatal mood disorders in a cohort of women recruited during pregnancy and followed longitudinally in the postpartum period during lactation. Dr. Meltzer-Brody also studies maternal depression in high-risk groups including adolescent mothers, and mothers of children with neurodevelopmental delays.
Dr. Meltzer-Brody has participated in a previous AHRQ systematic evidence-based review of perinatal depression. She has published numerous manuscripts in the field of women’s mental health, currently participates in clinical trials research in women’s mood disorders, and serves as the mental health consultant for the North Carolina Women’s Health Report Card. The Triangle Medical Journal recently selected Dr. Meltzer-Brody as one of the “Top 10 Women in Medicine.” She is also the founder of the Taking Care of Our Own Program, a resource for UNC Health Care employees, and the Associate Chair for Faculty Development.
Industry Expertise (3)
Education/Learning
Medical/Dental Practice
Research
Areas of Expertise (5)
Postpartum Depression
Perinatal Depression
Genetics
Women's Mood Disorders
Stress Management
Accomplishments (1)
Top 10 Women in Medicine (professional)
Awarded by The Triangle Medical Journal
Education (4)
Duke University Medical Center: Residency, Psychiatry
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: M.P.H., Health Care and Prevention Program
Northwestern University Medical School: M.D., Medicine
Simmons College: B.S., Biology and Psychology
Affiliations (1)
- Taking Care of Our Own Program (UNC) : Founder
Media Appearances (5)
UNC inpatient program serves as a model in treating postpartum depression
WRAL.com online
2015-11-23
At UNC, Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody, head of the Perinatal Psychiatry Program, said they see about 3,000 women each year. About 100 of those qualify for in-patient treatment. "We know that one in eight mothers will suffer from some sort of postpartum or pregnancy mood or anxiety symptoms," Meltzer-Brody said. A very small percentage of those become psychotic, and some will go on to harm their child. Meltzer-Brody referenced the 2001 case of Andrea Yates, a Texas mother who drowned her five children in a bathtub. Like Dulaney, some mothers are reluctant to ask for help, Meltzer-Brody said...
Postpartum Depression Vs Baby Blues: How To Spot The Signs & Tell The Difference
Parent Herald online
2015-11-02
"The psychological component of postpartum depression varies for everybody," said Dr. Laura Riley in the Yahoo Parenting report and it only gets worse because this isn't usually talked about in public. "There's societal pressure to feel happy and blissful, so women don't talk about [the baby blues]. There's enormous guilt and shame," said Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody...
6 Subtle Signs of Postpartum Depression
Shape online
2015-10-06
And that's just the number of women who seek treatment. That misunderstanding of what really defines postpartum depression that Panettiere mentioned is spot on with the problem, says Samantha Meltzer-Brody, M.D., director of the Perinatal Psychiatry Program at the University of North Carolina Center for Women's Mood Disorders. "What we call 'postpartum depression' is in many ways an insufficient term," she says. "PPD is actually a spectrum of mild to severe symptoms. Women can feel sad, blue, tearful, anxious, detached, overwhelmed, or experience postpartum psychosis, which is a true psychiatric emergency."...
Women who experience postpartum depression before giving birth may face greater risk
EurekAlert! online
2015-01-15
"Clinicians should be aware of the diverse presentation of women with postpartum depression," said Samantha Meltzer-Brody, MD, MPH, director of the Perinatal Psychiatry Program at the UNC Center for Women's Mood Disorders and corresponding collaborator of the study, which was published in the January 2015 issue of The Lancet Psychiatry...
Postpartum Depression And Poverty: Breaking The Cycle
Huffington Post online
2012-09-05
Why? Because "the biggest predictive factor for postpartum depression is a history of depression in general," explained Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody, director of the perinatal psychiatry program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel HIll. And the likelihood of all depression increases as income decreases, triggered by the greater instability of an impoverished life.
Articles (5)
Perinatal depression: a systematic review of prevalence and incidence
Obstetrics and Gynecology
2005 OBJECTIVE: We systematically review evidence on the prevalence and incidence of perinatal depression and compare these rates with those of depression in women at nonchildbearing times.
Perinatal depression: prevalence, screening accuracy, and screening outcomes: summary
AHRQ Evidence Report Summaries
2005 Depression is the leading cause of disease‐related disability among women. In particular, women of childbearing age are at high risk for major depression. Pregnancy and new motherhood may increase the risk of depressive episodes. Depression during the perinatal period can have devastating consequences, not only for the women experiencing it but also for the women's children and family...
The underrecognition and undertreatment of depression: what is the breadth and depth of the problem?
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
1999 One in 6 of the population will, at some point during their lives, suffer from major depression. By the year 2020, it has been estimated that major depression will be the second most important cause of disability worldwide. Major depression is associated not only with significant morbidity, but with comorbid chronic illnesses and lost productivity because of excess mortality and morbidity. The most important reason for the recognition and adequate treatment of depression is that symptoms can be effectively controlled. Despite this, patients are frequently neither recognized nor treated adequately. Underdiagnosis and undertreatment of major depression can be associated with factors relating to patients, their physicians, and the health care systems that provide their care...
Derivation of the SPAN, a brief diagnostic screening test for post-traumatic stress disorder
Psychiatry Research
1999 ABSTRACT: The Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS) is a validated 17-item self-rating scale used in the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is sensitive to the effects of treatment. It was felt that a shorter version of the scale might provide a better diagnostic screening tool. Subjects were drawn from a sample of 243 patients obtained from multiple cohorts that included a group of survivors of various forms of trauma, including natural disaster, rape and combat...
Long-term Outcome After Acute Treatment with: Alprazolam or Clonazepam for Panic Disorder
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology
1993 ABSTRACT: The relative effectiveness of the available treatments for panic disorder may best be understood in the context of the longitudinal course of the disorder. This study examines a number of clinically relevant issues, including long-term outcome after acute treatment, the proportion of patients remaining on single-agent treatment or requiring multiple medications or nonpharmacologic interventions over time, evidence for dose escalation during maintenance high-potency benzodiazepine therapy, and predictors of acute and long-term response to treatment...
Social